Sri Lanka — Corporate Income Tax
ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Sri Lanka corporate income tax work. Use whenever asked about Sri Lanka company tax for a resident company.
Key facts — Sri Lanka, 2025
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Tax | Corporate income tax |
| Currency | LKR |
| Year of assessment | 1 April – 31 March (YA 2025/26) |
| Primary legislation | Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017, as amended by Act No. 02 of 2025 (eff. 1 April 2025) |
| Authority | Inland Revenue Department (IRD) |
| Standard rate | 30% of taxable income (since 1 April 2023) |
| Concessionary rate | 15% on qualifying foreign-currency-source income and services remitted to Sri Lanka through a bank |
| Higher rate | 45% on betting & gaming, and on manufacture/sale or import/sale of any liquor or tobacco product (raised from 40% eff. 1 April 2025) |
| Export of liquor/tobacco | Taxed at the 30% normal rate (not 45%) |
| Capital gains (investment assets) | 10% (separate from business income) |
| Statement of Estimated Tax (SET) | Filed under s.91; YA 2025/26 due 15 August 2025 |
| Validated by | Pending — Sri Lankan CA / IRD-registered practitioner |
| Skill version | 1.0 |
Use these rules in your AI
Connect once and your AI follows Sri Lanka — Corporate Income Tax automatically — it stays current when a rate changes, and hands you to a licensed accountant when you need one. A copied file goes stale the day the law moves.
Using Claude Code, Cursor or Codex? Install these rules in one command:
Reviewing this as a licensed accountant?
Read the full ruleWant a licensed accountant to check your AI-generated return?
Get reviewedAre you a Sri Lanka accountant? Verify these rules and put your name on them.
These rules are research-verified. They need a licensed practitioner for Sri Lanka to confirm them and become their named verifier. Reviewing reference rules — not signing returns.
Apply to verify Sri Lanka →About
ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Sri Lanka corporate income tax work. Use whenever asked about Sri Lanka company tax for a resident company. Trigger on phrases like "Sri Lanka corporate tax", "Sri Lanka CIT", "company tax Sri Lanka", "30% corporate rate Sri Lanka", "betting and gaming tax Sri Lanka", "liquor tobacco tax Sri Lanka", "Inland Revenue Act 24 of 2017 company", or "year of assessment 2025/26 company". Covers the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 as amended by the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 02 of 2025 (effective 1 April 2025): the 30% standard rate, the 15% concessionary rate on remitted foreign-currency income/services, and the 45% rate on betting/gaming and liquor/tobacco. Out of scope — personal income tax (separate skill), withholding/AIT (separate skill), SSCL, VAT, banking/insurance/sector special regimes, and group/transfer-pricing matters.
The full rule
Sri Lanka — Corporate Income Tax — Skill v1.0
Produced by OpenAccountants (openaccountants.com). Research-grade (tier 2), drafted from official IRD sources for YA 2025/26 — pending sign-off by a Sri Lankan CA / IRD-registered practitioner. Not tax advice.
Section 1 — Quick reference
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Tax | Corporate income tax |
| Currency | LKR |
| Year of assessment | 1 April – 31 March (YA 2025/26) |
| Primary legislation | Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017, as amended by Act No. 02 of 2025 (eff. 1 April 2025) |
| Authority | Inland Revenue Department (IRD) |
| Standard rate | 30% of taxable income (since 1 April 2023) |
| Concessionary rate | 15% on qualifying foreign-currency-source income and services remitted to Sri Lanka through a bank |
| Higher rate | 45% on betting & gaming, and on manufacture/sale or import/sale of any liquor or tobacco product (raised from 40% eff. 1 April 2025) |
| Export of liquor/tobacco | Taxed at the 30% normal rate (not 45%) |
| Capital gains (investment assets) | 10% (separate from business income) |
| Statement of Estimated Tax (SET) | Filed under s.91; YA 2025/26 due 15 August 2025 |
| Validated by | Pending — Sri Lankan CA / IRD-registered practitioner |
| Skill version | 1.0 |
Conservative defaults
| Ambiguity | Default |
|---|---|
| Sector/rate unclear | Apply 30% standard |
| Forex-remittance concession (15%) claimed | Apply 30% until remittance-through-a-bank evidence confirmed |
| Betting/gaming or liquor/tobacco activity | Apply 45% (flat) unless it is export (then 30%) |
| SME / sector concession asserted | Do NOT apply — not confirmed in this skill; VERIFY against current IRA/IRD |
Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue
Required inputs
Minimum viable — audited or draft financial statements (P&L, balance sheet), prior-year return, taxable-income computation, confirmation of (i) sector (standard / betting-gaming / liquor-tobacco / export), (ii) any foreign-currency-remitted income claiming the 15% rate, (iii) WHT/AIT credits.
Refusal catalogue
R-LK-CT-1 — Banking, insurance, and sector special regimes. These carry separate computation rules. Out of scope — escalate.
R-LK-CT-2 — SME / concessionary sector rates not in this skill. Any SME or sector-specific concessionary rate must be VERIFIED against the current IRA and IRD guidance — this skill asserts only the 30% standard, 15% remitted-forex, and 45% betting/liquor/tobacco rates.
R-LK-CT-3 — Group taxation, transfer pricing, reorganisations. Out of scope — escalate.
R-LK-CT-4 — Cross-skill scope. Personal tax → sri-lanka-income-tax; WHT/AIT → sri-lanka-withholding-tax; SSCL → sri-lanka-sscl; VAT → sri-lanka-vat.
Section 3 — Tier 1 rates
3.1 Standard rate — 30%
The standard corporate income tax rate is 30% of taxable income, in force since 1 April 2023 (it was 24% from 1 January 2020, and 28% before that). Apply to taxable income computed under the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017.
Standard CIT = 30% × Taxable income
3.2 Concessionary rate — 15% (remitted foreign currency)
A 15% concessionary rate applies to qualifying foreign-currency-source income and services remitted to Sri Lanka through a bank. Require evidence of the foreign-currency source and the banking-channel remittance before applying.
3.3 Higher rate — 45% (betting/gaming, liquor, tobacco)
A flat 45% rate applies to income from a business consisting of:
- betting and gaming; or
- manufacture and sale, or import and sale, of any liquor or tobacco product.
Raised from 40% effective 1 April 2025 (Act No. 02 of 2025). The export of liquor or tobacco products is taxed at the 30% normal rate, not 45%. The same 45% flat rate applies to individuals carrying on such business income.
Section 4 — Tier 2
- Capital gains. Gains on the realisation of investment assets are taxed at a flat 10% (resident and non-resident). Company-specific characterisation (business asset vs investment asset) — VERIFY with the practitioner.
- Losses, depreciation, allowances. Computed under the IRA (Second/Fourth Schedules) — detailed loss carry-forward and capital-allowance rules are NOT asserted here; VERIFY against the IRA.
- SSCL interaction. SSCL (2.5% on liable turnover) is a separate levy — see
sri-lanka-sscl.
Section 5 — Worked examples
5.1 Standard company
Taxable income LKR 50,000,000 → CIT = 30% × 50,000,000 = LKR 15,000,000.
5.2 Liquor manufacturer (domestic)
Taxable income LKR 50,000,000 from domestic liquor manufacture/sale → CIT = 45% × 50,000,000 = LKR 22,500,000. (If the same income were from export of the product, the rate would be 30%.)
5.3 IT services exporter, forex remitted through a bank
Qualifying remitted foreign-currency services income LKR 50,000,000 → CIT = 15% × 50,000,000 = LKR 7,500,000, provided the banking-channel remittance is evidenced.
Section 6 — Filing
- Year of assessment: 1 April – 31 March.
- Statement of Estimated Tax Payable (SET): under IRA s.91; YA 2025/26 due 15 August 2025.
- Annual return + payment / quarterly instalment dates: VERIFY against the current IRD calendar (not asserted here).
Section 7 — Conservative defaults
| Item | Default |
|---|---|
| Rate uncertain | 30% standard |
| 15% forex concession | Apply only with banking-remittance evidence |
| Betting/gaming/liquor/tobacco | 45% (flat) unless export (30%) |
| SME / other concession | Not applied — VERIFY |
| Any figure flagged VERIFY | Flag for reviewer; do not finalise |
Section 8 — Sources
- IRD YA 2025/26 tax chart — https://www.ird.gov.lk/en/publications/SitePages/tax_chart_2526.aspx
- IRD Notice PN/IT/2025-01 (26.03.2025) — https://www.ird.gov.lk/en/Lists/Latest%20News%20%20Notices/Attachments/666/PN_IT_2025-01_26032025_E.pdf
- Consolidated Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 (to 2025 changes) — https://www.ird.gov.lk/en/publications/Acts_Income%20Tax_2017/IRA_Cons_Act_-_2025_Changes.pdf
Known gaps / VERIFY: SME / sector concessionary rates; loss carry-forward and capital-allowance detail; company capital-gains characterisation; annual-return and instalment dates.
Prohibitions
- NEVER apply the 24% or 28% historical rate to YA 2025/26 — the standard rate is 30%.
- NEVER apply the 15% concession without banking-channel forex-remittance evidence.
- NEVER use the old 40% rate for betting/gaming/liquor/tobacco for periods from 1 April 2025 — it is 45%.
- NEVER assert an SME/sector concession this skill flags as VERIFY.
- NEVER file or instruct filing — produce a working paper for practitioner review.
Disclaimer
This skill and its outputs are for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified Sri Lankan professional (CA / IRD-registered tax practitioner) before filing or acting upon. The latest verified version is maintained at openaccountants.com.
<!-- openaccountants-cta-block -->
Talk to a verified accountant
This skill is a tool, not an engagement. To speak with one of the licensed accountants who verifies skills for your jurisdiction — no liability until both parties sign an engagement letter — book a free 30-minute call:
More Sri Lanka tax skills
Other Sri Lanka computations in the OpenAccountants library.